Current Home and Community Care (HACC) Projects:

Consumers Guide to Personal Care by Robin Wilkinson A.M. 2010
Consumers Guide to Personal Care by Robin Wilkinson A.M. 2010 -Large Print
Consumers Guide to Personal Care by Robin Wilkinson A.M. 2010 - Order Form

 
1. Independence Project

Dr Carol Patterson is the HACC project officer engaged in designing and implementing the 2009 HACC project: Independence.  The research aims for the Independence project were to:

• Investigate understandings of what independence means amongst HACC eligible clients, both those using the and not using the services;
• Review the notion of independence as it is experienced by service providers in the field;
• Explore the relationships between client understandings and experiences of independence and the current policy and practice direction of the HACC Program;
• Identify best practice models of service provision and support to the aged, and frail aged– including under-serviced groups – that might inform future HACC services.

To date, 35 participants in the project have been interviewed in six communities around Tasmania.  The project is now reaching its conclusion, with a draft report concluded by Christmas, 2009.

Project Officer: Dr. Carol Patterson
Contact: carol@tascoss.org.au
Phone: (03) 6231 0755
Mobile: 0408 692812

2. Consumer Engagement Project

Nationally and internationally there has been a shift from consumer consultation to engagement.  The 2009/2010 project consists of a series of four workshops / forums designed to support HACC service providers to develop and implement best practice consumer engagement activity.  The workshops, run with the assistance of the Health Issues Centre, will engage HACC service providers and consumers in a process to:

• Develop an agreed set of consumer engagement principles for the HACC sector;
• Develop an agreed HACC sector consumer engagement model;
• Develop an implementation strategy; and
• Support implementation of the model. 

The workshop process is based on consultation with HACC service providers in early 2009 and has been designed in conjunction with the Health Issues Centre which has nationally recognised expertise in the area of consumer engagement. 

The project is consistent with the approach of DHHS Consumer Engagement Strategy and potentially serves as a pilot model for rolling out the Your Care Your Say strategy.

Project Officer: Klaus Baur
Contact: klaus@tascoss.org.au
Phone: (03) 6231 0755
Mobile: 0419 440123

The first Forum “Sharing” was being held on 30th November 2009 in Campbell Town.  To view or download the resources, documents and presentations, please follow the links below:

1. Consumer Participation Resources and Links
2. Examples of studies for TasCOSS aged care forum
3. Menu of engagement methods
4. Slides: from Consultation to Engagement - Dr. Tere Dawson (HIC)
5. Slides: Consumer Engagement Environment - TasCOSS
6. A Young Girl Still Dwells (poem read)

HACC Consumer Consultation Projects in the past years
The HACC consumer consultation project is TasCOSS'  key ongoing research project. TasCOSS has been implementing the project since 2001. Past projects have looked at:

• Enhancing Quality of Life explored issues related to addressing poverty and social disadvantage through the HACC Program. The study was the result of a consultative process the methodology of which is a combination of in-depth semi-structured interviews and group work. (2008)
• Experiences of vulnerability of elderly HACC consumers (2007);
• Intake, assessment and referral processes (2006);
• HACC consumers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (2005);
• Dementia and regionally specific issues (2004);
• Regional Issues with HACC services (2003); and
• Areas of unmet need in HACC services (2002).

To view and download HACC project reports click here.

For further information about the HACC project, please contact the HACC Project Officer at TasCOSS.